Feeling tired, stressed or overwhelmed?
Want to fire up your core and build whole-body strength?
Need to add some play and fun to your yoga routine?

Dolphin Pose is an Easy Yoga Pose for Kids!

Dolphin Pose is basically Downward Facing Dog on our forearms, which makes it a wonderful alternative for friends that have hand or wrist injuries or weakness. It is one of the best energizing and strengthening inversion yoga poses to lengthen the spine, as well as open and strengthen the arms, shoulders and upper back. This kid-friendly yoga pose also tones our core and stretches and strengthens our legs and feet.

As an inversion, Dolphin Pose reduces stress, headaches, insomnia and fatigue.

Let’s get swimming! Remember, dolphins are highly intelligent and playful creatures so make the activity a little silly with a dolphin laugh, or even add some jump switches with the legs!

Here’s how to do Dolphin Pose and its related inversion yoga pose variations:

How To: Dolphin Pose

Start in tabletop (on hands and knees, shoulders over wrists and hips over ankles)
Place forearms on the floor, elbows directly under your shoulders
Clasp hands together crossing fingers or press palms down on the mat
Firm abs, tuck toes and lift hips back and up away from your hands
Relax heels toward the floor and lengthen the legs
Keep neck neutral and in line with spine

Invite Us to Teach Dolphin Pose in your Classroom

Tips for Mastering Dolphin Pose:

If you have tight legs or hips, keep your knees slightly bent to lengthen spine and move hips away from your hands.
Press your hands firmly into the floor and evenly distribute the weight across both forearms.
Wrap your armpits toward the floor and create space in your shoulders, neck and upper back, with shoulder blades wide across your back.
Track your ears alongside your biceps so your neck is in line with the rest of the spine.
Bring your awareness to your breathing and find calm and stillness as you work in this pose.

Kids Yoga Video: Try it with us!

Build core and upper body strength and flexibility by swimming your dolphin! This isn’t just a toddler yoga video — children of all ages and even grown ups can benefit from Dolphin Pose.

Download our new musical yoga app

Kid-friendly Inversion Variations for Dolphin Pose:

Dolphins swim in schools or pods so have fun turning this into a group pose. Make dolphins side-by-side to create a tunnel and then take turns swimming through. Once a friend swims, they add their dolphin at the end of the line!

Building strength in dolphin creates the foundation for several fancy, often featured on Instagram, yoga inversions. It is also super safe for kids because we are not putting any weight or pressure on the head or cervical spine (like in headstand).

Start challenging your core and balance by lifting one leg up and then the other, while keeping the hips parallel to the floor. Once that feels stable, you can start to jump-switch between each side. With practice, you will find yourself lingering longer and longer in the air as you switch legs. When you can do these jump kicks while maintaining the integrity of your neck, shoulders and core, move your mat toward a wall or have a friend spot you and kick up into forearm stand.

If you don’t feel quite ready to kick up to the wall, you can still play with this fun inversion. Face away from the wall, come into dolphin and walk your feet up the wall so your back and legs make an “L” shape. Then try lifting one leg at a time while keeping space in the shoulders, neck and upper back and the integrity of your core intact.

Remember, inversions are a life-long practice so take your time. Also, make sure you take a rest in child’s pose after practicing dolphin pose or other variations to settle and ground.